Chapter Text
It was a slow Thursday afternoon, and Edwin was restocking the biographies section. Some tell-all book by some famous person he did not care to recognize had been selling like hot bread, and Jenny insisted that the shelves be fully stocked because, in her words, “it’s bringing in the money right now, so even though I hate this fucking book, just make sure there are plenty of copies out there.”
“EDWIN!”
Niko burst into the store in a flurry of color and beaded charms that clinked softly as she ran.
When Niko reached him, chest heaving, Edwin said, with light reproach, “Niko, you cannot be causing such a ruckus when you enter the store.”
As if on cue, Jenny popped her head from around the corner. “Niko. No running.” She shot the pair a glare before disappearing again. Good thing the bookstore was empty, otherwise Jenny wouldn’t have been quite so reserved.
“I’m sorry, this is just really important news.” Niko pulled a flier out of her pocket and held it up for Edwin to read. “It’s a new cat café! And guess what? It’s right next to the bookshop!”
The flier was covered in pictures of cats and text that was made out to look like it had been cut out of a magazine. An odd choice, really. To Edwin this looked more like a ransom note and less like an advertisement for a café.
“A cat café,” Edwin repeated plainly. “Why on Earth would I go to a cat café? What even is a cat café?”
“Edwin,” Niko started, lacing her arm with his, “why wouldn’t you go to a cat café? It’s full of friendly kitties and yummy treats!”
It’s true, the flier had indeed advertised an assortment of confections, and Edwin, who had been known to enjoy a sweet treat here and there, could not disagree with this point. Plus, Niko was always happy to accompany Edwin to bookstores and book fairs, even if there was nothing in it for her. This was truly the least Edwin could do. At least there would be no time-consuming travel involved.
“Fine, I will come with you to this cat café.”
Niko squealed excitedly and clapped her hands. “Yes!” With a sly look, she added, “You should totally ask Jenny to let you leave early.”
Jenny, apparently an omnipotent bookstore manager, manifested behind them. She did not seem happy, but that was not unusual. “Niko, are you trying to steal my employee?”
Niko looked to Edwin for some kind of clue or suggestion, then back at Jenny. “No?”
Even though Jenny looked bitter, she relented. “Fine. Not much going on around here, anyway. See you tomorrow, kid.”
Quite frankly, Edwin was surprised that it had been so easy. Maybe Jenny was not an entirely humorless grump. Or maybe she wanted to get them out of her store as quickly as possible, which made sense, considering how loud Niko could be when she got excited.
They made their way to the café, which appeared to be very crowded. Edwin frowned. “We might not be able to find a table…” But before he could finish his sentence, a man approached them.
“Niko! I’m so glad you made it!”
The first thing Edwin noticed about the man was his outfit, which straddled a bewildering line between elegant and garish. The décor of the café seemed to reflect both of these qualities, with mismatched vintage furniture, ornate light fixtures, and elaborate cat ramps fixed to the walls. It was a lot to take in, but it all fit together unexpectedly well.
And then Edwin looked into the man’s eyes, beautiful, breathtaking, such a lovely shade of light brown that they looked almost golden. He could tell that he was staring, yet could not tear himself away. Luckily, Niko pulled him out of his reverie.
“Edwin, this is Thomas. We met at the yarn store! He told me about the cat café and I was like ‘oh my gosh, we have to go!’”
Thomas cut in with the ease of someone who had been Niko’s friend for several years (Edwin would know). “And when she mentioned that you worked next door, I told her it was a sign that both of you should definitely come check out my Cat Kingdom.” He held out his hands cheesily towards the inside of the café.
“Right, totally not a marketing ploy to promote your new business,” Edwin said snippily.
“Edwin! Be nice. We are guests in this kingdom.” She turned to Thomas and bowed. “Your highness.”
Thomas gave Edwin a quick up-and-down look with a mix of curiosity and something darker, a hunger, then quickly turned to Niko with a warm smile. “Thank you, Niko. I have a table for you, if you’ll follow me this way.”
The table, by some miracle, happened to be the only unoccupied space in the entire café, nestled in a cozy corner next to the window which was lined by a bench where a few cats lounged lazily in the sun. A prime spot for a cat lover.
As soon as they were seated, Thomas handed them a couple of menus and stood up straight with his hands behind his back, the image of professional charm.
“What can I get you two? Our drink of the day is a matcha latte, expertly crafted by yours truly.” Then, looking straight at Edwin, he added, “Or maybe there’s something else on your mind? Just say the word and I will make it happen.” And was that a trick of the light or had Thomas actually winked at him? Edwin was completely taken off guard by the gesture, unsure of how to react. All he could do was straighten his back and clear his throat to stop himself from gawking. No one had ever looked at him like that and he couldn’t determine how it made him feel.
Niko, ever the perceptive friend, took notice of Edwin’s stupefaction and took the lead. “A matcha latte sounds perfect! I’ll take mine iced and Edwin will take his hot.” She took the menu from Edwin’s somewhat tight grip and handed both of them back to Thomas.
“Great! I’ll have those right out.” Thomas flashed another friendly smile at Niko, then looked back at Edwin. His eyes lingered for a second too long, and Edwin could feel his face turning red. There was something in Thomas’s eyes that Edwin could not place, and it made him feel self-conscious in a way he could not explain.
Once Thomas left, Edwin leaned in towards his friend. “Niko, is there something on my face?”
Niko looked at him quizzically for a second, and then her face lit up. She turned to look back at Thomas and, sure enough, he had been looking in their direction. He quickly turned back to chatting with some customers when Niko caught him staring.
Niko knew better than to make Edwin feel even more self-conscious in a public space, so, if she had picked up on certain things, she kept them to herself and offered reassurance instead. “Your face looks so good, and very handsome.”
Edwin was a little thrown by the last part of the sentence, but he merely furrowed his brow and frowned minutely before letting the matter go entirely. His mind was briefly occupied by the memory of Thomas winking at him, and all of a sudden it felt like his collar was a little too tight.
Soon Thomas was back, expertly balancing a tray and looking rather cocky about it.
“An iced matcha latte,” Thomas placed the drink in front of Niko, “and one hot matcha latte,” he got a little closer to slowly settle the mug in front of Edwin, who shifted uneasily.
After a dramatic pause and a quick peek at both of them, Thomas produced an additional plate with a flourish and set it down between them.
“And a little something else, my treat.” This time he winked at Niko, who seemed positively charmed by it. “Kitty cat cupcakes.” The cupcakes actually looked like cats, too, which Edwin thought was a little too on the nose.
“Aw, look at these cute little guys!” Niko looked at Edwin. “Right, Edwin? Isn’t this all so cute?” She glanced at him, then quickly at Thomas, then back at him.
Edwin pondered his answer. For Niko’s benefit, he was trying to play nice, but he hesitated to establish more rapport with Thomas, lest he give the wrong impression. “The food…certainly looks good. Thank you, Thomas.” He offered an affable smile.
Ever the showoff, Thomas spun the tray on his finger before stuffing it under his arm and taking a bow. “You’re very welcome. Let me know if you need anything else. I’ll be…around” He smiled at Edwin, and as swiftly as he showed up, he was gone. Edwin waited until Thomas had left to roll his eyes; he could hardly stand the performance of it all.
The food and drinks, as it turned out, were actually remarkably decent, despite the cheesy decorations. There was some foam art on Edwin’s latte–a cat, naturally. Even the paper napkins had little cats on them. He at least respected the commitment to the brand, even if he found it excessive.
One of the cats that had been sleeping on the bench by the window woke up with a soft mrrrp. Edwin hadn’t really noticed the cat until it got down from the bench and headed towards them.
Niko, of course, was overjoyed. “Oh my god, hi!” The cat walked over to Niko’s extended hand and nudged it with their head, then turned towards Edwin and brushed up against his leg.
Before he knew it, Edwin found himself with a cat on his lap. He let out a soft, startled ‘oh’ and moved his hands away from the cat. “Niko, how do I proceed? Should I just…shoo it away?”
“The kitty wants to be your friend! Give him a little pat on the head.”
With some trepidation, Edwin held his hand near the cat’s head, who proceeded to give him a small and affectionate bonk. Instantly, the cat was purring, and Edwin couldn’t help but smile. The cat rubbed their face on his arm, demanding more attention, so he obliged with a few more careful pets. This was a huge step for Edwin, who was not in the habit of touching and being touched. And the fact that he was enjoying it came as a surprise.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Thomas manifested next to their table. “I see you’ve met Meatball. And he likes you! He’s kinda picky, you know?” This time Thomas’s voice was devoid of theatrics and wooing. Instead, he spoke earnestly and fondly, looking at the cat with soft eyes and giving him a tiny chin scratch. For some reason, Edwin felt an almost insignificant twitch in his chest. He decided to ignore it and focus on the mild displeasure that he felt at being constantly interrupted by this unnecessarily hands-on manager.
“You appear to hover around here a lot. Is that common practice, or do you simply have a lack of managerial duties to attend to?”
At this Thomas placed a hand on the table and leaned in closer to Edwin, an impish grin on his face. “Well, Edwin, my first priority is to make sure that my customers are enjoying themselves.”
For whatever reason, this really got on Edwin’s nerves. Not only because he was getting tired of this man being so determined to invade his personal space, but because he could not stand to be seen only as a generator of revenue, as some passive recipient of advertisement to be manipulated into spending more money.
At least that is what Edwin told himself. If he were to dig any deeper, perhaps he would unearth a more elaborate thread of logic behind these feelings, but he wasn’t interested in finding more reasons to be irritated.
When they walked up to the checkout counter, the cashier told them that Thomas had already taken care of their bill. Suspicious, noted Edwin. “And he wanted you to have this.” The cashier placed two small items on the counter.
Edwin squinted at the items and picked one up with measured curiosity. “What are these things?” It appeared to be some sort of sphere crafted with yarn and small plastic beads.
“They’re itty bitty kitties!” the cashier informed them. “Thomas knits them and we sell them here.” They pointed at a merchandise stand off to the side where there were numerous small yarn cats under a sign that said ‘Itty Bitty Kitty - $3 each!’
This didn’t really answer Edwin’s question, it only raised more. What was the point of such an object? To Edwin this was merely an apparatus for collecting dust. And why were they being given these items for free? However, he did not care enough to argue. He simply smiled and pocketed the trinket, deciding to deal with it at a later time.
There were other more important questions in his mind–namely, what was this odd man’s endgame? Surely, this had to be a marketing scheme, albeit a more elaborate one than Edwin had ever seen. Not having a clear answer would nag him, but putting in the effort to find out would be just as much of a bother.
They turned around to exit the café and Edwin was silently thankful for the lack of Thomas waiting to see them out. He’d had more than enough ambushes for one day and was just about ready to be back home with a good book and no distractions.